WuXi makes down payment committing to $60M Worcester project

Photo | Grant Welker The Reactory is a planned biomanufacturing site with a capacity for more than 500,000 square feet of space.

Write a Comment

By Grant Welker

WuXi Biologics, the biomanufacturing firm looking to build a $60-million facility on Belmont Street in Worcester, has made a down deposit on the project, further committing the company to the project.

WuXi, a Chinese firm looking to build its first major American project, made a deposit in April, according to Craig Blais, the president and CEO of the Worcester Business Development Corp., which owns and is seeking tenants for a planned office park where WuXi would be a major tenant. The closure of the financing should take place by Monday, Blais said.

The company is proposing to build a 107,000-square-foot facility with 150 workers next to AbbVie's pharmaceutical building. It would be the first part of the office park called The Reactory to rise on what used to be the Worcester State Hospital. The 46-acre site is meant to draw biomanufacturing companies to take advantage of the proximity to AbbVie and UMass Medical School, which is located just across Plantation Street.

WuXi, which first announced plans to move to Worcester in June 2018, has already received a $6-million tax credit from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. In March, the Worcester City Council's economic development committee unanimously recommended the full council approve a $11.5-million tax break, though the ultimate vote has yet to take place. Over the term of the proposed 20-year deal, WuXi would save 40% off its tax bill.

WuXi is a contract manufacturer, making products on behalf of clients and partners. The Worcester facility would be its first such project in the United States. City officials said in March WuXi plans to break ground this spring and open by March 2022.

The WBDC has called WuXi, a big name in the industry, a crucial piece of attracting more tenants to The Reactory. The agency is working with Worcester's Metaphor Marketing Communications to pitch the property, including to firms in Boston or Cambridge looking to find cheaper space to expand. The Reactory will be able to fit up to about 500,000 square feet of space on eight developable sites and one remaining building last used as part of the state hospital.